I finally acquired a copy of Soul Calibur II. It's a great game, but HOLY FUCKING SHIT, WHY IS IT SO HARD? Especially the advanced Weapon Master mode; "Don't fall down in the entire fight against three enemies of extreme speed and skill or you'll instantly die!" What the shit?!

Bah, whatever, it's pretty awesome. Minus the really bad English voice acting for some characters, that is. Anyway, here we go...

"As expected, your 'Sentinel' is distracting himself with frivolous matters."

Eros turned to face Apollo. "I do not appreciate the tone in which you are using, Apollo. Besides, is not Helios also being distracted?"

The Four rested on their thrones, having just finished checking up on the progress of their Sentinels. They had been keeping a close eye on them ever since they left, and so far, none of the four Sentinels were having much success. They were being...distracted.

Demeter intervened in the conversation before it could escalate to an argument. "Peace, friends. Do not forget that our Sentinels are powered by Valhalla's net; and Valhalla's net is powered by our unity. I dare say that all of our Sentinels are losing focus. But can we blame them? They have been away from the world for such a very long time. Is it not natural that they would first embrace the things they miss, even before their mission? Remember, they may be Sentinels; but they are only human."

Artemis nodded sagely. "Yes, only Theron seems to be in focus. But for the record, there is hardly anything to distract him in that frozen wasteland he searches. The rest of the Sentinels are merely reacquainting themselves with their humanity. I have no doubt that they will focus on their appointed task when they are through."

Apollo crossed his arms. "You all speak of such things, yet I see no evidence of this slacking you accuse my Sentinel of."

Demeter roller her eyes. "Please, Apollo; we have all seen what Helios has focused on since his arrival on the earth. He is only on the lookout for battle at the moment. Not the Catalyst. Besides, it is not as though we are accusing him or you; Xandra is distracted by the nature she so loves, and Chrysaor has been plagued by his desires for companionship. As I said, they are only human."

Apollo waved her off. "Bah. Do not refer to Chrysaor as a Sentinel. He is a frail, weak excuse for a human being. Never have the Sentinels been cursed with one so shameful..."

Eros was at the end of her patience. Chrysaor was like her own son; and these insults to his character angered her. "Never? Not even when Siris betrayed us all and utilized his power for his own means? And need I remind you, that Siris was your Sentinel Apollo."

Apollo's anger flared and he rose to his feet. "Silence! We have all agreed to never speak of Siris again!"

Demeter made an obscure gesture in Apollo's direction. "Than perhaps you should not accost Eros' Sentinel so. We all have the right to select whomever we wish to be our servant; her decision to pick Chrysaor is none of your concern."

There was silence among The Four. They very rarely had disputes among themselves. Apollo's golden eyes shifted between his three companions, but although anger and indignation could be seen there, he said nothing. After a few moments, he took his seat on the throne.

Artemis nodded once more, seemingly content that the situation had been resolved. But Eros saw things for what they were. The unity of The Four had just taken a major blow, and with it, the strength of their Sentinels.

"So, you mean to tell me that the world is ending? That there is an apocalypse just on the horizon?"

Cyril, now unarmored, sat in a lounge chair across from a girl named Amy Sorel, who was reclining in a similar manner. Although the Sentinel had deposited his armor, in an effort to instill some amount of trust in the girl, he still held her rapier in his own grasp. He was not foolish enough to return the weapon to her.

"I'm guessing that you don't believe me?"

Amy gnawed on the edge of some obscure pastry as she answered. "Can you blame me? After all, the things you are telling me would be widely accepted as the ravings of a madman."

Cyril nodded. "True. But then again, not all raving madmen can make a full suit of armor materialize out of thin air and shoot lightning from their fingertips."

The young Rouen girl eyed Cyril with indifference. "There are a lot of mortals in this world with abnormal abilities. Your powers are not evidence of your truth."

Cyril shrugged. "Well, you don't have to believe me. Merely allow me to investigate the source of darkness in your home. Then I will be on my way, and you can go back to eating sweets and fantasizing about impossible romance."

Amy shot him a glare of indignation. "Don't patronize me. My hobbies are irrelevant. You will not roam about my father's home unchecked. Especially with the foolish reasons you are attempting to deceive me with."

"And where might your father be?"

"...absent."

The hesitation in her answer piqued Cyril's interest. "Absent? Well, he must be a very wealthy man to own such a formidable castle. Surely he possesses servants. Where are they?"

"Ah...also...absent."

Now the Sentinel was greatly intrigued. "You're here alone? A girl at your age has this whole castle to herself?"

This question seemed to offend Amy. "I am more than capable of taking care of myself. Father trusts me to...behave... in his absence."

"And you are content with that?"

Those words threw off the young girl. It seemed that they were causing her to examine herself. "I...yes. Of course I am."

Cyril could hear the weak conviction in Amy's voice as she answered. He figured that he would need to pounce on that uncertainty if he wanted to convince this girl to let him conduct his business. "You don't hope for more?"

"Hope only leads to disappointment."

Deciding to ignore her cynicism, Cyril pressed on. "It can also lead to fulfillment. True, it may lead to disappointment, or failure, but if you never act at all, then you have failed already. Your life will be nothing but a disappointment. At least if you try, there is a chance of success."

Amy spent several moments contemplating this, but when she finally answered, Cyril could not detect any telltale emotions. "You seem wise beyond your years."

"You seem mature beyond yours. That is why I think you understand my words. At this very moment, life is passing you by. I know you are unfulfilled; those romanticized novels of foolery you read are sign enough of that."

Amy gave the Sentinel another look of annoyance, but she let him continue. "And you will be doomed to remain that way, unless you make it happen for yourself. Your dreams are not in this castle. They are out in the world."

At this, Amy spoke. "According to you, the world is going to end. So what's the point of attempting to fulfill my desires?"

"I did say that. But I told you that I will stop that End as well."

"You will, or you'll try?"

Cyril had no hesitation or doubt in his answer. "I will."

Silence ensued between the two strangers. Cyril wondered if Amy was pondering his words. If she was, then he was more than content to allow her a few minutes of silence. But the quiet didn't last as long as he had thought it would. Within hardly a minute, the astute young girl was questioning the Sentinel of Lightning once more.

"Why do you care so much about the life of a stranger? You hardly know me, yet you seem awfully concerned about my future."

Cyril smiled in what he hoped was a friendly manner. "Yes, I suppose that might seem a little suspicious. But the reason is much less sinister than you seem to think. Do you mind if I tell you a short little story? It'll enlighten your understanding of my concern."

"I suppose I'm not going anywhere as it is."

It seemed that the young French lass had some amount of humor after all, despite how dry it might be. "Indeed. Well you see, when I was your age, I was a lot like you. I lived a life that didn't satisfy me. I wanted more. But I didn't want to do anything in order to achieve that fulfillment. I thought that the things I wanted would come to me of their own accord. I now realize that I was delusional; I was the center of my own universe at that time. I thought the world would conform to my wishes just because I wanted it to. And I went on for years believing that. Thinking that everything would be great, and that I had all the time in the world to what I wished."

"I'm assuming we are about to come to a tragic turning point?"

Cyril suffered Amy's interruption without complaint. "Quite. Eventually, I realized that life had other ideas about the workings of the world. That I wasn't the center of some mechanical universe that existed only to please me. Unfortunately, it took a brutal massacre in order for me to realize that. But when I had finally discovered the true nature of the fulfillment I wanted; my very life was robbed from me. I am little more than a servant now. I can't live up to the aspirations that were once mine. And it has plagued me for years. I've experienced a great deal of inner suffering, knowing that I had wasted my life until the end. And despite the fact that I don't know you, I don't want you to experience that. I wouldn't want anyone to reach the end of their life without accomplishing what they wished for most, unless of course that desire was evil."

Cyril's conversational partner soaked in his words, but she said nothing. Whether or not she understood that Cyril had died was indeterminable, but the Sentinel did not think she took such a literal connotation to heart.

This time, the silence ensued for many minutes. Even after nearly a dozen, the girl was quiet. Coming to the conclusion that Amy was immersed in her own thoughts, Cyril rose from the chair, intent on making use of the girl's lack of attention to explore the castle, despite her protests. He would come back to her afterwards, to see what had been gleaned from his words. For now, the End drew ever closer, and valuable time was being wasted. The Sentinel would delay his investigation no longer.

Rising from his chair, he watched to see if the girl opposite of him would object. However, it was obvious that Amy was completely oblivious to Cyril's movements. She must been in very deep thought. More than happy to take advantage of this opportunity, Cyril began his investigation of the castle; starting with the kitchen. Just because he didn't have to eat didn't mean he couldn't still enjoy good food.

"Make it quick. Snatch the girl and let's go."

Tira peeked over the edge of an Athenian rooftop. The architecture of the buildings made it easy to remain undetected, even at this time of day. "In broad daylight? Besides, I can't kidnap the kids and fight Sophie's sis at the same time. In case you didn't notice she is keeping an eye on them."

Spawn refrained from peering over the edge, since his dark outfit was in stark contrast to the white buildings and blue skies. "All you have to do is make it back to me with the girl. Whether or not you get spotted is irrelevant. Besides, neither of the damn brats is older than three! How much trouble could it be to grab one? Or both even?"

Tira scowled at the hell-spawned creature. "I don't see you offering to do it. Besides, have you seen that girl in action? I don't want get knocked out by her fat ass!"

"Fine. Since you seem to be useless without help, I'll take care of her. You just get the kids while they're distracted. No wonder Soul Edge doesn't trust you."

Spawn leaped off of the building to the ground below, leaving Tira to fume in silent rage.

I am going to murder that fucking fuck, I swear!

Raphael leaned against a tree alongside the road he traveled with his servants, and clutched his chest in agony. Jacqueline took notice immediately.

"Master Raphael! What's wrong?!"

The malfested nobleman responded with vigor contradictory to his supposed pain. "Something terribly bad is happening! I can tell!"

Jacqueline cocked an eyebrow at her lord. "Something bad? I-I don't understand..."

Raphael fell to his knees. "Something must be happening to my beloved Amy! I can sense a terrible premonition that something bad is happening to her! We must turn around immediately!"

Marienbard tried to calm him. "M-master, this is the third outburst of evil premonition you've had concerning your daughter. Perhaps you are just homesick? Or experiencing fatherly worry?"

"No, I am absolutely certain that something awful is about to happen! Some sort of change for the worse! Perhaps that change is... independence?! NOOOO!"

Both women shied away from the man. "I believe Master Raphael is worried about leaving his daughter alone. Or maybe more afraid that she'll develop a mind of her own while he's away..."

"Isn't that called puberty?"

"NOOOO!"

Cassandra watched over her young niece and nephew as they ran circles around each other in their play. Toddlers had such an abundance of energy during the day. Too much, in Cassandra's opinion. She sighed as she watched the two kids yell and scream at the top of their lungs as they played.

Does Sophitia have to deal with this every day? This is why I'm never going to get married...

The Athenian woman caught the eyes of her niece, as Pyhrra smiled happily at her. Cassandra waved to the little girl, and as she did, she noticed a drastic change in her facial expression.

"Pyrrha, what's wrong?"

The young girl's eyes widened and little Patroklos pointed a chubby finger at his aunt. "Aunt Cassie! Behind you!"

Cassandra instinctively ducked down, attempting to avoid whatever was behind her. She tucked and rolled away from a potential enemy, and after rising to her feet, laid eyes on a strange humanoid creature with glowing green eyes and an axe that seemed to drip with despair.

"Every time I attack from behind someone with the mind of a child has to give me away..."

Cassandra didn't have her shield with her, but her sword was at her hip at all times, and she pointed the blade at the creature threateningly. "What are you, and what do you want?"

The black-clad man said nothing. Instead, he floated up into the air, green energy flowing around his arms. Cassandra looked on this with interest.

"That's uh...not normal."

Her observation was answered with a green fireball. But the projectile was going to fly way over her head. The angle of the ball of energy would lead it to her family. Without concern for her own safety, Cassandra leaped in front of the attack and attempted to deflect it with her sword. She semi-succeeded: she managed to deflect the attack, but it still landed on the ground beside her. The resulting explosion shattered the stone street and emitted a loud roar, causing Pyrrha and Patroklos to scream in terror. Cassandra fell to the ground with a thud. Keeping her eyes on the enemy before her, she motioned to her niece and nephew.

"Pyrrha, take your little brother and go find your mom!"

The little girl stammered out a small reply. "B-b-b-but, Aunt C-Cassie..."

Cassandra took a moment to give a reassuring look to the girl. "It's alright Pyrrha. I'll be fine. But mommy is going to be worried about you. Be a big girl and go find her."

Pyrrha nodded, despite the doubt still written on her childish face. She grabbed Patroklos' hand and began to lead him away from the scene. "C'mon Patty! We have to go find Mommy!"

Cassandra couldn't watch them go, as she was keeping her eyes on her enemy, lest he attempt to pursue the two young children. Once she was comfortable with the distance between Pyrrha and her brother and this demon, Cassandra raised her sword once more, preparing to charge her adversary.

"You creep... I'll teach you a lesson about messing with my family!"

Pyhrra led Patroklos by the hand, frantically searching for her mother. Sophitia was likely at the bakery, but the young girl still had trouble remembering her way around the area. They were currently in an alley between two streets, and Pyrrha wasn't sure which way to go. She whipped her head back and forth, wondering which way would lead to her mother.

The little girl spent several minutes being wracked by indecision. She wanted to protect her little brother by leading him to the safety of their parents, but she wasn't sure which way to go...

"Aw, are the little birdies lost? Can't find your nest?"

The two little children looked up at the source of the voice, which belonged to a strangely dressed girl perched on the edge of a rooftop, with a big hula-hoop thing around her shoulders. The unknown person hopped down from her resting place and landed in front of the two Athenian kids. Patroklos stumbled backwards in fear, but Pyrrha felt strangely... attracted to the girl. She had some sort of feeling of similarity with her. The weird feelings were beyond the young child; all she knew was that she wasn't scared of this woman.

The pig-tailed girl crouched down to be closer to Pyrrha's height. "You feel strange... you have an aura similar to...Soul Edge?"

Pyrrha cocked her head to the side. "What's that? What's an...awr...auwra?"

"Hmm... never mind. You're a very cute little girl, you know?"

Pyrrha smiled. She liked hearing that. "Thank you! You're very pretty too, miss!"

"Really? I'm glad you think so. Why don't you tell me your name? I'm sure it's very nice."

Pyrrha bobbed up and down on the balls of her feet. "My name's Pyrrha! What's yours?"

The girl in front of Pyrrha smiled reassuringly. "Oh, that's interesting. My name is Tira. It rhymes; isn't that neat?"

Little Patroklos piped up from behind. "Big sis, we need to go find mommy!"

Tira snapped at the child before Pyrrha could respond. "Shut up! No one was talking to you!"

Patroklos scrambled away in fear. Pyrrha felt as though she should defend her little brother from the angry words, but for some reason, she felt like he deserved to be yelled at. He shouldn't have bothered her when she was talking with this weird girl, whom she felt so familiar with.

Tira, having quieted the other Alexandra sibling, returned her attention to Pyrrha. She had a sweet smile across her face, as though her outburst just a moment ago had never really happened. The dark-haired girl reached her hand out to stroke Pyrrha's face. A strange sensation flowed through the little girl as she did so. Anger and angst rushed throughout Pyrrha's small frame at Tira's touch. But was it coming from the girl, or from herself?

"What are you running from little Pyrrha? Something scary?"

Pyrrha struggled to keep a level voice as she answered. "A-a big scary guy... he had some weird green stuff... and he was t-trying to hurt A-aunt Cassie..."

"Was he trying to hurt you?"

The little blonde nodded.

"Aw, that's not very nice, is it? Do you want me to protect you?"

A little bit of conflict arose within Pyrrha's little mind. "B-but... Mommy is gonna... protect us..."

Tira made a pouting face. "But I'm better than mommy, right?"

"B-better?"

Tira nodded. "Uh-huh. Mommy says she loves you, but she's a liar. She doesn't really love you. She likes little Patty more than you."

These words fell on sensitive ears. With Pyrrha's cursed blood reacting to Tira's malfested aura, the little Athenian girl couldn't refute Tira's blatant lies. She just accepted them as truth. That felt like the right thing to do. Even had she been more than a mere child, she wouldn't have been able to explain this blind acceptance. Some twisted voice in the back of her mind just told Pyyrha to believe the older girl in front of her.

"S-s-she doesn't...? Mommy doesn't love...me?"

Little tears began to slip from the girl's eyes, but Tira pulled her close and wiped them away. "Don't cry, Pyrrha. I think you're a good little girl. I love you. Not like that mean lady. I would never pick Patty over you. I think you're the best. You can be my little... angel."

Such immense comfort flowed from these words, but they felt... twisted. Wrong. They felt like a lie. But little Pyrrha believed them anyway. She thought of saying no, but all she wanted was to say yes. The weird feeling in her gut told her to say yes. And so she willingly slipped into this stranger's arms, convinced that she loved her more than her own mother.

Tira hefted the little child in her arms as she stood. She cast a brief glance of curiosity at Patroklos, but the little boy did not possess the same evil that little Pyrrha was cursed with. He was worthless. Turning her back on the little blond, she began to make her way towards the rendezvous point for her and Spawn, breathing lies into Pyrrha's ears all the while.

"W-what the hell?!"

Cassandra struggled to withdraw her blade, which was buried to the hilt in Spawn's torso. The demonic creature hadn't even flinched when Cassandra rammed it in, and he showed no signs of pain as she tried to pull it out.

"What are you?!"

Spawn gripped his opponent by the throat. His strength was immense, but he wasn't attempting to kill her just yet. "I'm an abomination. A cursed servant of some twisted demon. And you're just a stepping stone on my path to destroying him. No hard feelings."

Spawn tightened his grip around Cassandra's neck, instantly robbing her of her ability to breathe. He lifted the Athenian high off of the ground, laughing diabolically as he watched her squirm. Cassandra tried to escape his grasp by kicking Spawn in the gut, but if her sword, buried in his chest, had done nothing, surely her kicking was just futile resistance.

In a matter of moments, Cassandra was beginning to lose consciousness. I-I can't die here! What if he goes after the kids? Or Sophitia? But... I can't... escape!

Cassandra's efforts of resistance grew gradually weaker as she was strangled by this creature. Was this the end? Was she going to be killed here, without being able to support her sister in her quest against Soul Edge? How would she ever live a contented afterlife having left such a burden behind?

"Release my sister, you fiend!"

Spawn turned to face a new threat, but his face was met with the metal rim of a shield. Spawn flew backwards, releasing Cassandra as he did so. Landing a few feet away, he returned to his feet, completely unharmed, but very irritated.

"Another bitch? What a pain."

Sophitia stood in-between her sister and the demon that had harmed her. Her stark white clothing was quite... revealing. Still, she presented the fearsome image of a warrior.

"I will not allow demons to plague my home! Leave at once, or suffer the consequences!"

Spawn was anything but intimidated. He slowly pulled Cassandra's blade out of his torso, purposefully making a show of twisting it as he did so. "Your little toy isn't going to hurt me. No amount of suffering can compare to what I've already been through."

Sophitia readied herself for battle. "We shall see. Come, if you are determined to do this."

Spawn made no move. He merely gave a short laugh. "You're brave. I like that. But I'm done here. I only have one objective in this world... anything else is just a bother. I don't think you'd want to fight me anyway. Your tits would bounce all over the place in that outfit."

Sophitia couldn't think of a way to respond to that embarrassing comment. "W-wh- I mean, I don't-!"

While fumbling for a response, the creature before her disappeared in a phenomenal manner that the Athenian woman didn't know how to describe. Left alone with her sister, she temporarily forgot about the adversary. She bent to her knees, glad to see that Cassandra was still conscious, and didn't seem seriously harmed.

"Cassandra, are you alright? What was that creature?"

Her sister had trouble getting the words out of her damaged throat. "I'm fine... don't know..."

Sophitia looked around for her two children, who were supposed to be with Cassandra. "Where are Pyrrha and Patroklos?"

"...Told 'em... to run and find you. The monster didn't... get them."

Sophitia's relief was, unfortunately, premature.

"Mommy! Mommy!"

The baker's daughter turned to receive her children in her arms... but only Patroklos came running to her. The little blond boy crashed into her arms. Although Sophitia was relieved to see him, she was greatly concerned about Pyrrha's whereabouts.

"Patroklos, where is your sister? Why isn't she with you?"

The little one looked up into his mother's eyes, worry written all over his childish features. "She's gone, Mommy! She went away!"

"G-gone?! What do you mean?"

"Some lady took her away! She was weird. But Pyrrha didn't think she was weird! She went away with the weird lady!"

Every word that her little boy spoke brought more worry and distress to Sophitia's mind. "W-what woman? What did she look like? Maybe she was just trying to keep her safe..."

Patroklos shook his head back and forth furiously. "No! She had black hair, and a weird... uh... weird... circle thingy! Yeah! The weird lady had a big circle that was almost as big as her! It was really big! And uh... she had claws! Metal claws! It was really scary!"

Cassandra eyed her sister worriedly, her raspy voice uttering the words Sophitia didn't want to hear. "That sounds like... her..."

Sophitia buried her head in Patroklos' tuft of blond hair and began to cry. She couldn't help but question why something so terrible had befallen her family yet again. "Oh... Hephaestus... why is this happening to us? To me..."

After nearly an two hours of investigating the nooks and crannies of Wallachia castle, (and he was nowhere near done, by no means) Cyril had made little progress. He was making a wide circuit around the castle back towards the study where he had been talking with Amy Sorel. No doubt she had noticed his absence at some point, and was not pleased with his disrespect of her wishes. Not that she could really manage to hurt him...

Speaking of hurt, the Sentinel of Lightning was feeling... damaged. Not physically, but... almost as if his soul was being wounded. But he didn't know what was causing it. In an effort to see if it was merely a feeling or an actual serious matter, he had attempted to recall his armor into the physical realm. The process had taken considerably longer than usual. Even more worrisome was the fact that it also caused more strain than it usually did.

Cyril couldn't really think of any reason why this was happening. The most logical explanation he could come up with was that the dark energy that infested this castle was weakening him. Little did he know that the true cause was much more serious...

But since he was unaware of this true cause, Cyril focused on the task at hand. The evil energy he had investigated so far hadn't really told him anything. His only discovery pertaining to the energy was that it had a distinct aura about it. That at least meant that he would be able to recognize it elsewhere in the world.

Engrossed in his thoughts, Cyril finished his circuit and re-entered the study he had first landed in. Both chairs in the room were empty, and Amy was nowhere to be found. Her rapier was also missing... Cyril frowned. This was the second time he had forgotten to keep a weapon out of a dangerous girl's hands. First Tira, and now this. His level of awareness was slowly dropping, it seemed.

Convinced that the study was indeed empty, Cyril left the room. He gradually made his way towards the castle entrance, wondering where Amy had disappeared to all the while. When he reached the front gates, his thoughts gave him a moment of pause. He wondered if his words had had any real effect on the young French girl. Had she actually considered his wisdom, or had it fallen on deaf ears? He would probably never find out.

The Sentinel's thoughts were interrupted by a tapping on the back of his armor. The little runt had sneaked up on him again...

Cyril turned to face the young redhead he was expecting, while simultaneously pushing the tip of her rapier away from him. Before Cyril could say anything to her, Amy thrust out a travel bag filled to the brim towards the Sentinel. Cyril was momentarily confused. Was this supposed to be a parting gift?

"Ah... I appreciate the thought Amy, but I don't actually need this..."

Her arm didn't waver. "It's not for you to use. It's for you to carry."

"What? Why?"

The look in Amy's crimson eyes said that the answer should be obvious. "Well I'm not carrying it."

"Well you're not going anywhere. At least not with me."

"Is that so?"

"It is."

There was a moment of silence between the two; locked in stalemate. Amy made the first move in the mental game of chess. "You said that my dreams were out in the world, not in this castle."

Cyril countered with, "Yet I never said I would lead you to them."

"A young girl like me could never travel alone. The people wouldn't allow a female of my age to travel without being accompanied by a man."

Cyril cringed. That was a good move. "I'm sure you are cunning enough to overcome the sexism of the world. Use your head."

More silence between the two. After a few moments, Amy made the final move. She managed to put on the most hurt and sorrowful expression Cyril had ever seen. It was probably fake, but nevertheless effective. "You inspired me to try and accomplish things for myself... and now you're crushing my hopes all over again..."

Checkmate.

Cyril's eyes twitched with irritation. Damn his conscience... he snatched the travel bag out of Amy's hands and slung it over his shoulders with a grumble. He could see a faint, manipulative grin tug at the corner of his new companion's lips. "Fine, you can come with me! But don't think I'm going to pamper you like your father. Diabolical..."

With that, Cyril turned away from Amy and marched towards the gate of Wallachia castle, confident that the young girl was right behind him. Sometimes his good intentions caused him more harm than good.

Whew, long chapter. Anyway, I'm just going to talk about a few tidbits down here, so you don't have to read it if you don't want to.

I think Patroklos and Pyrrha, who are only two and three during SC4, may have been a little advanced for such young children. But I needed them for this chapter, so maybe they were just really smart kids?

I'm also aware that Tira supposedly kidnapped Pyrrha at the end of SC3, but for the sake of the story and the sequel, I delayed this event until now.

Last thing; if any of you are wondering why Pyrrha had all those weird emotions... Sophitia, in Soul Edge, the very first Soul game, got a shard of Soul Edge stuck near her heart, and it couldn't be removed. According to the wiki, Pyrrha was born with blood cursed by the evil sword because of this. Tira's malfested, so I thought the two auras of evil would react with each other in a manner like they did.

ANYWAY, thanks for reading, and, as usual, I greatly appreciate all feedback, whether it be positive or constructive criticism, as well as simple encouragement. This story is picking up readers fast, and I love it! Next chapter in a few weeks though, since I have to catch up on my other stories... Until the next installment!